Meet Andy Thurlow

If you are reading this, then you are probably not as surprised as I am!

The last thing I ever expected was to have a website with the link andythurlow.com, let alone six books appearing there with my name on their covers!

This writing thing was ignited when on nearing retirement as a very happy schoolteacher, having taught in both private and government systems and in different Australian states, I felt I needed to keep my brain stimulated.

I loved being creative in my teaching and worried a little at the time that this might begin to dry up!

So, in the penultimate year of my former career, I asked my wife Marlene’s nephew, Kieran Modra, if I could write his life story. This took some time, because this terrific and wonderfully talented young man refused to retire. After eight successful Paralympics, multi-gold-medal-winning Kieran decided to spend more time with his family, only to be tragically killed by an errant motorist. If you do nothing else, please read Kieran’s inspiring story.

Kieran was just so proud when his book, published by Wakefield Press, was launched in Adelaide by the then South Australian Governor Hieu Van Le AC.

And I now had the writing bug!

After Kieran’s book, I soon found myself writing about a couple who have had a profound influence on so many lives—Rolph and Margaret Mayer. Ninety people contributed to help me tell these stories. And what incredibly interesting people the Mayers were. It’s a book I am very proud of.

I was born on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands and came to Australia with my family when I was seven. My parents were amazing and role-reversed for their times. My mum was a farmer all her life and became widely respected as a chicken meat bird grower and Murray Grey cattle breeder in Victoria. Dad was new age—he was artistic, poetic, articulate, and sensitive. He was my hero!

When my parents passed, I felt the need to write about our shared experiences, and the discovery of a ‘new’ cousin, and so I wrote a novel titled Painting Martha.

Over my teaching career, and especially once retired, I've enjoyed dabbling in silly verse. A family called Playnes snuck out of my imagination, and you’ll get to meet them all in Just Playne Nonsense.

Marley and I have two children. We’ve just been blessed with our first grandson. What a miracle! We are so totally in love with Eric, and so I wrote him a story called Santa Claus Deserves Applause.

We live very happily in the Barossa Valley and in my retirement I have also started two community clubs—Sprocket Rockets facebook.com/cyclingfunbarossa/ and Hugamugs. Sprocket Rockets is a social cycling and coffee-ing club, whereas the Hugamugs enjoy the coffee and chat without pushing pedals.

At Hugamugs I got chatting to five local ministers of religion. They all had such incredible stories that I just had to sit down with them and their life partners and write The Hugamug Club.

Immanuel College in Adelaide commissioned me to write the life story of one of their own, the wonderful Margaret Ames. Heart to Heart: The Margaret Ames Story was published in 2018, and if you would like to read that account, you’ll need to contact Immanuel College.

My other hobbies are reading, sport, travel, red wine, social cycling with coffee-ing, vegetable growing, handyman projects and, of course, lots of writing.

In all of my writing I owe a great deal to Marley, who puts up with the hours I spend at my computer or just dreaming up stories. Marley enjoys the many interviews we do together.

And a special shout out to a very good friend, Jan Wallent, who is my brilliant editor.

I enjoy hearing from you, so feel free to contact me at books@andythurlow.com.

Happy reading!

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